Fell off the Horse Again

Do you keep falling off the same horse and then do it again and again?

Well, it happened one more time. I got a new job in January and was so excited for it to work out. Once the training was completed and I was back on my feet, everything went to hell. The job was on a concrete floor with little movement allowed. The pain became constant and overwhelming which undermined the attitude. I turned in a two week resignation but was allowed to terminate early. Other than a bruise on the ego, most of the soreness is gone. I shouldn’t feel so bad – twenty year olds with half this body weight were having a hard time, too!

It’s not been easy the last few days… Not every friend or family member has been understanding. Some people don’t comprehend the torture of working on your feet while experiencing stabbing neuropatic pain. That’s okay though. It has helped me determine who needs to be a more distant part of this life. It’s all about setting boundaries. Doors and fences are nice but phones and email messages need to have boundaries, too!

So here is the plan for the coming days. After losing 35 pounds now, a reward is in order. I have an exciting camping trip planned for Thursday. It should be fun and scenic, offer a chance to try a new restaurant and will yield some cool pictures. Stay tuned.

As far as the work thing goes… I’m sick of laboring for large, blood sucking corporations… The workplace has gotten a lot tougher in the last thirty years. Workers are squeezed harder than ever with lessening chances for retirement as our wages and purchasing power drop. It is good not to have to get too caught up in it any more.

Here is the plan. The new approach is to look at life as if I work for myself. Other than God, the only person I answer to is the guy in the mirror.

If I approach life with this perspective, there are surely ways to make it happen. I’ve done a great job finding bad occupations. If the same energy can be put into finding little lawn mowing jobs, cars to wax, detasseling corn for a weekend, etc., money can be made with less stress and fewer rules. Nobody says you HAVE to have a regular paycheck direct deposited every other Friday.

I spent the first thirty years of my working life trying to get ahead… It never happened – at least not for very long – and I missed a lot of chances to really enjoy the little things. Even with health problems, there’s time to enjoy each day to the fullest. Living simply is not necessarily living lazy… (Though I wish I was the cat in the picture!)

Here is a piece of free advice which is worth TWICE what you paid for it… DO NOT let others tell you how you MUST live based on what they think is the right way to do things. Though well intentioned, much advice is laced with fear, insecurities, “what-if” thinking, the desire to control, etc. Filter that shit out. If you feel you’ve thought things out, quietly continue on your journey, silently dismissing that which doesn’t fit your view of the situation. Remember the old saying “Take it worth a grain of salt?” It might be time for a “reduced sodium diet.”

I try to respect opinions but know that I do not have to act on them. If an opinion becomes an ultimatum then it’s crossed the line and is no longer a suggestion at all. It’s an attempt at control. Embrace your freedom and choose what is right for YOU. God gave us all a free will; He didn’t give mine to cousin Carol or co-worker Jim-Bob.

Thanks for reading. Have a good one. Make it a super good one!

“The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach” Lyn Yutang

About VanTrekker

I am a former vandweller in Eastern Iowa who, for several years (off and on), lived in a 2007 Chevy cargo van. I still travel around Iowa with my tortoise shell cat, Jennifer Stefanie.
Our favorite place to explore is the Country Heritage Community, the four far northeastern counties of Iowa (Clayton, Winneshiek, Allamakee, and Fayette). Ride along as we fish in pristine trout streams, enjoy fine home cooked camping meals, and meet new people. It's all possible on a shoestring budget.
Happy travels always! --- Brad, the "Van Trekker"

I always thought that the perfect life would be working two or three part time jobs like dockhand, bartender, and gardener. If you leave one you still have two and you get to change it up every day. How about apple picker! I always wanted to try that. Good luck, you seem to have a great sense of direction.

Thanks for the notes Waneroke and Ash. I’ve never been an apple picker but I think it would be fun.

I plan to do some corn detasseling this summer. For a couple of weekend days you walk in a hot cornfield plucking the tassels out of the tops of corn plants. It’s hard, hot work but a lot of fun. In two days I can make enough money to live for a week.

Wanderoke, I agree with you. I don’t want to work for a year to only get two weeks off. In many cases employers don’t even want you to take the time off in useful blocks.

I remember working for a difficult boss some years ago. He rode my case because I took a number of two day vacations. Dad had to have minor medical procedures and I was the only one around who could help him. The boss at the time chewed me out for taking small increments. He said vacation was intended to allow me to rest up and come back more productive. I forgive his lack of caring but fear karma will get him back…

Brad, your musings are as refreshing as they get. If you can’t find someone to work for who respects you, values you, and wants to work with a cooperative team ethic, then that’s the signal to move on. Wouldn’t it be a much different world if people could more readily say, “I live (enjoy) to work” as opposed to “I work to live”?

We are blessed to work for a major company that knows that we’re people not only when we walk out the door at the end of the day, but we’re also people when we walk into work every day.

Firms sure may not be able to reward monetarily as in the “days of yesteryear” but there’s truly something to be said for being recognized for the talents and heart we all so uniquely possess.